We arrived at the novitiate in time for some afternoon tea. I met Isaac, the other new novice, and we transferred our possessions from our mothers' cars to the novitiate van, said our goodbyes, and headed across to Pymble to celebrate the vows of the novices two years our senior.
We arrived, and were greeted by a barrage of Jesuits. There were far too many for me to remember most of them, though my life was made slightly easier by the fact that most of them seemed to be called Steve or Bill. We introduced ourselves (Isaac already knew many of them, especially the Melbourne contingent, but I had met no-one there other than those with whom I arrived) and chatted a little before dinner. I had dinner with Eric, a chemist from the US, Hua, a bioethicist from Melbourne, and Greg, parish priest right here in Emerton.
After dinner with prayed with and for Brett and Joshua, the novices who would be taking vows the next day. A Jesuit taking vows receives a cross to remind him of the reason he has taken vows, and in the last couple of decades it's been traditional to use a cross that was previously owned by a now deceased Jesuit. So we heard a little about the lives of the Jesuits who owned Brett and Joshua's crosses.
After breakfast the next morning, I was wandering, and happened to say hello to Justin, a deacon from New Zealand. We chatted for a while about our experiences in applying to and joining the Society, and he convinced me to join the choir for Mass. I was glad to be at the vow Mass, but it wasn't quite as important an event for me as I expected. The reason is that I didn't really know anyone there (e.g. the novices making vows), or the Society at all. So it's not such a surprise that some provinces put entrance day soon after vow day and don't bring the new novices to vows. It will be much more meaningful in a year's time when I know the vowers and a bit more about the Society from the inside.
There was a tiring reception afterwards: lots of standing and meeting people! I fear that many people now remember me, but I don't remember them very well because there were so many more of them than there is of me. But that's ok: there'll be time. Once people had started to disperse, a few of us went to the Jesuit villa house at Newport.
There's a story as to how the Jesuits acquired that house. There was a woman who had two prized possessions: a house directly overlooking the beach at Newport, and a set of first class relics of Mary Ward, a pioneer in the founding of apostolic orders of women religious (the very idea was revolutionary). This woman had one son, a priest who died relatively young, so she had no descendants when she died. And she had a great love for two religious orders, the Loretto sisters she worked with frequently, and the Jesuits who mowed her lawns. So when she died, she gave the relics to the sisters, and the beach house to us.
We walked along the beach for a while, then went back up to sit on the balcony, watching the waves and enjoying the breeze. The house was on Calvert Parade, so I felt right at home!
Dinner was much quieter: it was mostly only the tertians and novices who remained. So I took advantage of the quiet evening to repack my bags and catch up on the sleep I missed on Thursday night.
On Sunday morning, we drove back to Emerton for Mass at Holy Family. The parish was saying goodbye to Brett and Joshua, who were to move to Melbourne to study. They also said hello to Isaac and me, but first hellos are less emotional than goodbyes! Then it was time for all the novices (Brett and Joshua aren't novices any more) to drive south to Gerroa for first probation. We stopped for a bit of lunch at Oporto (despite the protests of the GPS woman), and had a very easy trip down past what is fast becoming familiar territory.
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